"Don't worry about that. Ash is currently challenging the Battle Pyramid. Brandon has been staying near Fennel Valley for a while now, and Ash is planning to challenge him for the third time. I can take you there directly," Scott said.
"Alright, then let's stop by the Pokémon Center first to heal my Pokémon before we go," Gary said.
"No problem."
Once Scott finished speaking, he pressed down on the accelerator. The engine roared louder, and the car surged forward. It sped along the road and arrived at Celadon City in a little over ten minutes.
The two rested in Celadon City until the afternoon before setting off again. Fennel Valley was located between Fuchsia City and Celadon City, in an area of open rocky terrain.
The sports car sped along the road, and after two hours they finally arrived at Fennel Valley, stopping at a small Pokémon Center on the outskirts.
"Huh? When did a Pokémon Center get built out here?" Gary asked, surprised to see it.
When Gary had visited Fennel Valley before, there hadn't been any Pokémon Center at all.
"Apparently ancient Pokémon fossils were discovered in Fennel Valley recently. Since this road connects Celadon City and Fuchsia City, they set up a Pokémon Center nearby to take care of the ancient Pokémon research and give travelers a place to rest," Scott explained.
"I see."
Gary recalled that he was the one who had originally reported the discovery of those ancient Pokémon. He hadn't expected the Kanto League to move so quickly on it.
"Vee!"
Eevee suddenly cried out, pointed toward the Pokémon Center ahead, and immediately ran toward it.
"Wait for me."
Gary knew Eevee had noticed something and followed right after it.
After entering the Pokémon Center, Eevee looked around, then ran to the left, leading Gary toward the rest area. Since this Pokémon Center also served as a resting stop for travelers, the rest area had been built quite large.
A group of people sat at a table near the window in the rest area. Gary spotted a familiar face right away, and just as he was about to say something, Eevee beat him to it and called out first.
"Vee! Vee!"
The group sitting at the table heard Eevee's cry, turned toward the entrance, and exclaimed at the same time.
"Gary!"
"Hey! Gary!"
"No way, it's really him!"
The group turned out to be Ash's traveling companions—May, Brock, and Max—along with Professor Oak, though Ash himself wasn't there.
"Grandpa, why are you here?" Gary asked.
He wasn't surprised to see Brock and the others, but the fact that his grandfather was there was strange. Professor Oak had only handed Eevee over to him the night before, and yet here he was the very next day.
"I came to bring everyone some encouragement," Professor Oak said, holding up a rolled piece of paper covered in handprints left by Ash's Pokémon—all of it meant to cheer Ash on and hopefully help him beat Brandon.
"Gary, what are you doing here?" May asked, puzzled.
"Gary's here to challenge the Battle Pyramid," Scott said, stepping up beside Gary to explain.
"Whoa, that was fast! I heard Gary had just cleared the Battle Palace a few days ago," Max exclaimed.
When Ash had challenged Brandon the second time, Scott had told him and the others about Gary's progress through the Battle Frontier. And now, only a few days later, Gary had already cleared both the Battle Palace and the Battle Tower and made his way here.
"I've been doing a speed run. Once I clear one facility, I ride my Pokémon straight to the next, so I've been moving fast," Gary explained.
The reason Ash's progress was slower was largely because of May—since she also had to compete in Pokémon Contests along the way, their overall pace had naturally been slower.
"Grandpa, you're here, but what about Eevee?" Gary asked.
"Don't worry about that. I already teleported the Eevee to Cinnabar Island Laboratory. Professor Blaine is looking after it," Professor Oak said.
Gary was caught off guard. He had assumed his grandfather would want to study it personally, but instead it had been sent straight to Blaine.
If he hadn't known that this version of Blaine had never joined Team Rocket, Gary might actually have been worried about leaving Eevee in his care.
"What Eevee are you talking about? Isn't Eevee right here?" Max asked, looking at the Eevee standing beside Gary in confusion.
"It's nothing, just some Pokémon research. Anyway, Gary, are you here to challenge the Battle Pyramid too?" Professor Oak asked, quickly changing the subject.
"Yes. Mr. Scott told me the Battle Pyramid is stationed nearby. I'm planning to challenge it tomorrow," Gary said.
"Tomorrow probably won't work. Mr. Brandon already agreed to battle Ash first, so you'll need to wait, Gary," Scott said.
"That's fine, I can wait." Gary looked around and asked, "Where's Ash?"
"He went out to spend the day in the wild with his Pokémon to reconnect with them. He'll be back tomorrow to challenge Mr. Brandon," Max explained.
"Doesn't he already know his own Pokémon?" Gary asked, confused.
"This time Ash is planning to use the Pokémon he caught right at the very beginning to challenge Mr. Brandon. Besides Pikachu, that means Charizard, Squirtle, and Venusaur," Max said.
Gary finally understood. Aside from Pikachu, the other three Pokémon had essentially been set aside for the past year. Charizard still saw occasional use, but Squirtle and Venusaur had gone untouched for nearly two years.
"Is that so? So Ash and Brandon are having a four-on-four match tomorrow?" Gary said.
"Yeah," Max said.
"Then there's no way Ash wins. He's definitely going to lose," Gary said.
"Hey! Gary, why would you say that?" May asked, puzzled.
Ash always spoke of Gary as his childhood friend, so she hadn't expected Gary to say something so discouraging.
"Brandon's strongest Pokémon are Regirock and Registeel. Even I had a hard time dealing with them, and Ash doesn't have anything on his team right now that can handle them," Gary said. "It's a four-on-four match. With Brandon fielding those two Pokémon, Ash's chances of winning aren't good."
Hearing Gary mention those two Pokémon, Max and the others immediately looked worried. Gary himself had been defeated by those same two Pokémon before.
Though his first loss had partly been because Ash was under the control of King Poklantis at the time—during which he'd used a type advantage against Sceptile and gained a real edge—Sceptile had still ultimately fallen to Regirock's Hyper Beam.
In his second challenge, Brandon had used Registeel, and Ash had sent out Torkoal to counter it with a type advantage. Despite landing hit after hit, Torkoal still couldn't bring it down, and was eventually finished off by two of Registeel's Zap Cannons.